FERMANAGH and Omagh District councillors are on a mission to make home to school transport available for all children across Northern Ireland.
Concerned about ongoing traffic congestion in towns in this district, councillors believe making school transportation available for all children would go some way to addressing the problem.
The idea was initially raised at April’s full council meeting when councillors agreed that the Education Authority (EA) should provide free school transportation to all schoolchildren thereby removing the need for parents to transport their children, which contributed to the congestion.
Members discussed how traffic congestion was significantly eased during school holiday periods, and suggested that a harmonisation of school holidays could also help to ease the situation as well as reducing school transport costs.
They were also keen to ensure the safety of school children walking to school in poorly lit rural areas as well as address the suggestion of a possible surcharge of £50 to avail of school transportation.
A letter had been sent to the EA highlighting these points.
The reply was brought before this month’s full council meeting.
In the reply, the Director of Operations and Estates, Sara Long, said the primary responsibility for ensuring children attended school rested with parents.
“It is only those pupils that exceed the qualifying distance that are entitled to transport,” she said.
Ms. Long outlined at around £75 million was spent a year on providing school transport to the 89,000 pupils who were eligible for it.
“Members should be advised that any change to the existing policy is a matter for the Department of Education and would require ministerial and executive support within the NI Assembly,” she added.
She told members that the allocations of school holidays was primarily a responsibility for each school.
And she added that work had already been completed by the Chief Executives f the previous Education and Library Boards to harmonise school holidays.
“Schools will still require some flexibility within their timetables,” she said, “it is unlikely that any further harmonization of school holidays is possible.”
Having considered the later however, councillors were still determined that the Home to School Transport Policy should be changed.
Enniskillen councillor, Robert Irvine told members FODC had “long-term issues” regarding the current policy.
“If we are really minded to change things properly, we need to look at a long-term view. 
“We need to establish a Working Group. This is not a quick fix.”
He said their mission would require collaboration with other councils too.
It was suggested that an invitation should be extended to the Department of Education and the EQ to come and address members, allowing councillors the chance to air their issues.
But Mr. Irvine said the key decision makers were being left out.
“We want to speak to the people responsible for this policy,” he said, “And with the greatest respect to the EA, it is Board of EA that actually sets the policy and direction for EA.
“We want to talk to the policy makers, so we need to bring down part of the executive team and also the representatives who sit on the board -- they are the ones to lobby and tell them there is a need for change.”
Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist education spokesperson, Rosemary Barton, has criticised the new online process for applying for home to school transport, stating it will leave many families unable to access the transport services they need.
“Providing an online application process for home to school transport is certainly a good idea for many parents who want quick and easy access to this service,” she said, “Modernising these processes will help us to meet the expectations of our citizens. However, for many people in Northern Ireland reliable internet access is not available to them either in their own homes or in their local community.
“In my own constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone, only 62 percent of households have access to superfast broadband, considerably lower than the UK average which is almost 90 percent.
“According to the consultation document all applications for transport assistance will have to be made online and where parents are unable to access the online system at home the EA will provide access to a computer terminal at any of its Resource Centres. There are only five centres in Northern Ireland, most of which operate between the hours of 8.30am and 5.00pm - this is not sufficient or accessible for working families who can only make this trip outside of work hours,” she contended.
“I fear that this system has not been properly thought through or consulted upon. A dual application system should be retained until reliable broadband can be guaranteed across Northern Ireland.”